Tumbling Through the Vortex
by a-promise-that-i-keep
Summary: The Doctor comes to teach at Hogwarts, but when things get dangerous, it's up to him and Hermione to save the school. A bit of romance. Hopefully lots of action. Enjoy! The Doctor, Doctor Who, Hermione Granger, Hogwarts, Harry Potter
1. Chapter 1 - The New Teacher

Hermione looked up from her parchment as she heard the quiet footsteps that signaled the arrival of the teacher and the beginning of her Muggle Studies class. A moment's confusion crossed her mind as she realized that these footsteps were quicker and lighter than those of her teacher, Professor Verns, but quickly remembered that the aforementioned Professor was away on long service leave as of this lesson. She craned her neck in an attempt to see who the new teacher was –

- just as he walked into the room.

Hermione blinked. This professor was amazingly young to be teaching at Hogwarts. He was tall and thin, with dark, spiky hair and an angular face. He had a stack of books under his arm and for some odd reason was wearing a blue muggle suit instead of the usual black robes that the other teachers preferred. He wore a stylish pair of black-rimmed reading glasses and as he surveyed the room Hermione noticed that he had a piercing gaze – one that could almost match Professor Dumbledore's.

"Good morning," the man said quietly. Immediately the room fell silent. It seemed that the new professor had the same skill of silencing a classroom with a single word that was so well-known among the students of Professors Snape and McGonagall. Hermione was amazed.

The new professor looked around the classroom again, his gazing resting on each student as he studied his new class. When his eyes met hers Hermione sat up straight and stared straight back. His left eyebrow rose slightly in surprise but he made no comment as he continued his inspection of the room. Finally he spoke again.

"My name is Professor Smith. As I am sure most of you will already know, I am your new Muggle Studies teacher for this year." He spoke quickly, his voice remaining soft, almost silent as he began to pass around the books he had brought with him to the class. "Please-" he paused for a second and resumed in a voice uncannily similar to that of the head of Slytherin- "-turn to page three hundred and ninety-four."

The entire class stopped dead. Professor Smith grinned. "Yes, I heard about that – poor professor Lupin was out with a touch of Tooth and Claw, wasn't he? I remember meeting him during my application for this job."

Hermione was astonished. As far as anyone knew, no-one had ever dared to make fun of Professor Snape in such a manner – not once throughout his entire teaching career. She expected the greasy-haired Potions Master would have something to say about that little comment very soon – she could already see the Slytherins at the back of the class whispering amongst each other.

"I wasn't joking, you know," Professor Smith said suddenly. "Our first lesson really is on page three hundred and ninety-four: Chapter Nine, The Petrol Car."

Hermione smiled to herself as she opened the textbook. She was liking this new professor more each second.


	2. Chapter 2 - Not Quite Right

The sweet chime of a dessert spoon hitting glass quickly silenced the chatter in the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore stood up and made his way to the large golden stand that lay in front of the teachers' table, every eye in the room trained on him. Hermione was frequently impressed by the respect the students held for Professor Dumbledore – not many people could cease the babble of over two thousand students at dinnertime.

"I would like to welcome a new Professor to our school," the headmaster began. "Professor Smith is our new Muggle Studies teacher, filling in for Professor Verns, who, as you already know, is on long service leave this year. I hope that you will treat Professor Smith with all the respect that he is due."

Professor Smith stood up and smiled to the crowd. A polite smattering of applause greeted him.

"He looks a bit daft, doesn't he?" Ron whispered to Hermione. "Those muggle clothes really are odd."

Hermione felt her face burn as she turned to reprimand Ron, but thought better of it at the last moment. She felt an odd attachment to this teacher – never before had she wanted to defend a new professor against her friend's usual observations. Biting back a snappy remark, Hermione took a deep breath and returned her eyes to the teachers' table in time to see that Professor Dumbledore had sat back down and given them permission to eat once more.

The next few weeks of the term flew by in what seemed to Hermione to be the blink of an eye. Every second day she said goodbye to Harry and Ron and climbed the long, winding staircase up to the fifth floor, where Professor Smith taught Muggle Studies. Although on his first day Hermione had been more than ready to defend her new Professor from any rumours of how strange he was, she was beginning to see for herself that not all was quite right with the Muggle Studies teacher.

The first thing she noticed was his clothes, of course. She had assumed that he would swap into teachers' robes after the first week or so of teaching, but he persisted with his muggle suits. She had to admit he looked better in the suits, she supposed – she simply couldn't imagine him in wizards' robes and more.

The second oddity about him was that he knew an extraordinary lot about muggle science. Hermione had, of course, gone to muggle primary school before she came to Hogwarts, and had topped her grade in the subject – but Professor Smith seemed to know things about science that she doubted any of her previous muggle teachers could have comprehended. Oftentimes the professor would go on in a tangent, speaking at a million miles an hour (after the first few lessons he had gained his confidence with the students and they had learned that he spoke faster than they had previously assumed was physically possible), and end up talking about Hion particles and bio-dampers, completely losing the classes comprehension before coming back to his senses and returning to the subject at hand.

But the strangest thing was this – he never used his wand. Not once had Hermione seen Professor Smith cast a spell, not even to unpack his things for class or write something on the blackboard while he spoke. She didn't even know if he had a wand.

Hermione never questioned her professor about any of these things; she assumed that it was a delicate subject for him. However, as the term continued she grew more and more curious.


	3. Chapter 3 - Library Terrors

**Okay, guys, here's where the action comes in! Please remember I'm a new writer so DON'T KILL ME if I screw up please...!**

The term finally ended. Harry and Ron had both left for The Burrow to celebrate the Weasley Family Quidditch Cup, but Hermione had opted to stay at school since her parents were celebrating their 20th anniversary and had gone on holiday to Italy. Quickly she realized that she was the only student left in the castle – in a rare occurrence, it seemed that everyone else was away. Hermione didn't mind the solitude, content to sit alone in the library and read. Many an afternoon she could be found curled up in a corner, a heavy novel on her lap, deeply engrossed in tales of foreign lands and early explorers. One of her favourites was an old muggle novel named _A Journal of Impossible Things_. It reminded her of her first discovery of the wizarding world.

Around halfway through the term there came a dark thunderstorm that hung over the castle throughout the day and well into the night. Unable to sleep in the empty Gryffindor common room, Hermione crept into the library too seek comfort in her books. Buried amongst the pages of _Great Wizarding Heroes_, she became dead to the world for several hours until a strange pattering sound jolted her from her reverie.

"Hello?" she called, raising the lantern that served as her reading light. No answer came, but the pattering started up again, closer this time and accompanied by a low, threatening growl.

_It's just Crookshanks, it's just a house elf, it's just Crookshanks, it's just a house elf… _Hermione tried to reassure herself, but the low, quick thumping of her own heart beating frantically inside her chest overruled these thoughts. Now terrified, she backed up against the wall, eyes scanning for movement, silently cursing herself for not bringing her wand, and all the while whatever it was behind the bookshelves was coming closer, closer, closer…

Suddenly something huge burst around the corner and turned on her. With a scream, Hermione dropped the lantern, plunging both herself and the creature into darkness. A second later, the monster crashed into her, knocking her to the ground and sending jolts of pain up her spine, its claws slicing deep into her arms. Her vision swam with pain. The last thing she remembered before spiraling into unconsciousness was a yell and a flash of blue light.


	4. Chapter 4 - The TARDIS

**Hey guys, this one's really long, so I won't be posting much more for a while until I'm able to write a few more chapters. Enjoy!**

Hermione woke aching all over. It took her several seconds to find the right muscles to open her eyes. She tried to look around but realized that this probably wouldn't be a good idea when pain wracked her neck as she tried to turn her head.

It was at this moment that Hermione became aware of the conversation that was taking place in the room. Though she couldn't see him, she could clearly hear the distinct voice of Professor Smith somewhere to her left.

"She could have died," She heard him say. "We need to get her out of the castle. That creature has her scent now and it's going to come after her again."

"The teachers and I can handle it." The next voice was unmistakably Professor Dumbledore's. Hermione realized that she must be in the headmaster's office. Curious, she shifted her head to try to catch a glimpse of her surroundings.

She had forgotten about her injuries. A sharp cry escaped her lips before she was able to stop it.

The teachers' conversation immediately ceased. Hermione heard footsteps approaching her before the worried face of Professor Smith appeared within her view.

"Hermione, how are you feeling?"

Hermione grimaced. "Pretty sore." Her voice sounded weak and raspy.

The wisened face of Professor Dumbledore peered down at her. "You've been unconscious for quite a while." He said gravely. "Do you remember what happened?"

Hermione shuddered as she thought of the attack, but then cried out again as pain lanced up her spine. Professor Smith immediately reached to help her sit up. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Hermione nodded, which turned out to be a bad idea. She winced. Professor Smith's face hardened in anger as he looked up to the headmaster. "She needs to be taken out of the school," he insisted.

"She will be fine here! There is nothing-"

THUMP.

The heavy oak door that lay at the entrance to the room shuddered as the sound reverberated around the headmaster's office. Professor Smith looked up, blood draining from his face. "It's him." He turned to Professor Dumbledore. "She'll have to come in the TARDIS."

The headmaster pursed his lips in irritation but consented with a nod of his head. "I'll hold it off."

THUMP.

Hermione had heard that phrase clearly, but had understood very little. The TARDIS? She looked over to Professor Smith for answers, but just then there came a massive CRASH as the door buckled and gave way. Ignoring the pain in her neck, Hermione turned her head towards the doorway—

-and gasped in shock. A huge creature stood in the doorway, larger than Hagrid, with dark, shaggy fur and glowing red eyes. It caught her gaze and growled, and she felt herself tremble with terror.

"Go!" Professor Dumbledore yelled. Without warning, Professor Smith grabbed Hermione, lifting her up into his arms, and ran to a purple curtain at the other end of the room. He flung the fabric back to reveal a large, blue, wooden box – a muggle police box. Opening the door, the Professor rushed inside.

Hermione gasped with amazement as they entered the box. She had expected it to be cramped and dusty, but instead it was- well, it was bigger on the inside.

Forgetting her terror, Hermione gazed around, completely enraptured by the astonishing sight before her. She was in a huge room with strange rock-like, swirling formations stretching from the floor to the roof. In the centre of the room sat what looked like a control panel spread in a wide circle around a plastic tube filled with strange, light-filled bubbles.

Professor Smith chuckled at her expression as he set her gently down on a soft chair near the centre of the room. "Go on, say it." He grinned. "Most people do."

Hermione had about a billion questions but her mouth only formed one. "Who _are _you?" She breathed.

"My name is the Doctor," he replied. "I'm a Time Lord."

This only baffled Hermione further, but before she could ask any more questions, the entire room shook violently.

"It's trying the get inside!" The Doctor yelled. He ran to the control panel and began flicking levers and jamming buttons. He picked up a monitor filled with moving circular figures, groaned and put it back down before grabbing a small hammer and whacking the control panel. The box lurched and then steadied.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"That thing was strong – a lot stronger than I had thought. It nearly broke the shields."

This got Hermione worried. "Can't it just break them again?" She asked, concerned.

The Doctor turned and grinned and the young girl. "Come on," he said. "Let's have a look outside." He strode over to Hermione and lifted her up again, almost as if she weighed nothing. Hermione gasped as her spine was jolted. The Doctor grimaced. "Sorry about that," he said. "The creature broke your back, but the poison it had on its claws wouldn't let us heal you immediately. Professor Dumbledore applied some spells, but it'll be a while before you'll be back on your feet." He grinned again. "Right, you'll love this. Welcome to space!" With this phrase, he flung the doors open to reveal a vast cloud of many-coloured dust floating in a black, inky sky.

"How?" Hermione breathed. "We were in Professor Dumbledore's office, and no magic would enable you to take this box with you while you Apparate."

"Ah, but we didn't Apparate." The Doctor appeared to be having a lot of fun explaining all of this. Dropping her gently back into the chair, he closed the doors and ran to the control panel. "This is the TARDIS!" he yelled dramatically. "She can fly anywhere in time and space, even to different dimensions – though that was an accident." His face dropped for a moment, but soon brightened as he continued his explanation. "It's not magic. It's not made by wizards – heck, it's not even made on Earth!"

Hermione still had one question. "You said before that you're a Time Lord," she began.

"Ah, yes, that." The Doctor looked a bit solemn. "I'm the last of the Time Lords actually." He seemed rather sad at this thought. "We were a race of beings from the planet Gallifrey, in the Kasterborous system."

"You mean-" Hermione stopped a moment to assure she wasn't about to say something idiotic. "You mean you aren't _human?_"

"Oi!" the Doctor looked rather offended. "That's hardly a bad thing! Neither are you, anyway!"

This completely knocked Hermione. "_What _did you say?"

"Wizards!" The Doctor shouted, glad for a change of subject. "You're really amazing! You look, like humans, speak like humans, live with humans – but you're not! It's brilliant!"

"Wait," Hermione really needed confirmation of this. "You mean-"

"Yep. You're an entirely different species!" The Doctor said happily. "Must have evolved separately a long time ago. You really are fascinating – and incredibly good at hiding your existence! I didn't even know you were around until a few months ago!"

Hermione was having a bit of trouble processing this. For some strange reason, she found herself believing the Doctor entirely, though this didn't stop her from stil asking questions. "But what about Muggle-borns?" she pointed out. "If wizards are a separate species, how are Muggle-borns magic?"

The Doctor's grin widened even further, as if he had been waiting for her to ask him that question. "Here's the _really _amazing bit,," he said. _"You can pass on the wizard gene by touch. _And you don't even know it! All it takes is for an expectant Muggle mother to shake hands with, say, two or three wizards, and _wham! _One magical child, coming right up!"

By this point, Hermione was confused, sore, and still a little frightened. The Doctor turned to look at her and saw this. He grabbed a blanket out of one of the cupboards that lined the edge of the TARDIS' control room and tucked it gently around her where she lay in the chair. "Sleep for a bit." He said softly. "You've had a lot of excitement today and you need your energy to finish healing." He said something else, but it fell on deaf ears. Hermione was already lost in slumber.


	5. Chapter 5 - Tracking the Beast

Hermione woke refreshed and well-rested. She sat up, testing her back for any signs of pain, but it felt completely healed. She grinned with delight. Finally she would be able to walk around again! Getting carried from place to place had begun to feel quite tedious.

"Feeling better?" the Doctor's voice was so close behind her that Hermione leapt back in surprise, nearly falling out of the chair but regaining her balance in the nick of time.

"Yeah," she replied as casually as she could, her heart fluttering in her chest at the small space between them.

The Doctor grinned, seemingly unaware of the awkward situation that had just taken place. "Then let's get to it!" he ran to the control panel and flicked a large brown lever just near the column of light in the centre, throwing them into the vortex and turning Hermione's world upside down.

One wild TARDIS-trip and a serious bout of uncontrollably hysterical laughter later, they had arrived. "Where are we?"

"Back at Hogwarts." he replied. "About two months before the attack."

Hermione stopped. A whole _two months! _She'd travelled with a Time-Turner before, but never this far back. She looked up at the castle as she stepped out into the crisp January night. Its many small windows were filled with a soft golden glow that spilled out over the grounds, illuminating the Forest. By the edge of the forest she could see Hagrid's house and vaguely make out his silhouette as he played Tug-o-War with Fang.

She sighed, happy to be home.

She didn't see the Doctor go back inside the humming TARDIS, but she certainly did notice when he came back out again holding two blades – one massive sword and a slimmer, lighter blade. He handed the second weapon to her but she refused it, Knowing that it would only slow her down. "I'm good."

"Okay then," the Doctor agreed, obviously having come to the same conclusion. "Allons-y!" he yelled, and took off towards the castle. Hermione chuckled and followed.

The pair were both reasonably out of breath as they reached the top of the hill and arrived at the foot of the castle. They lay down in the soft green grass as they rested for a minute before jumping back up and continuing on into the castle.

"So what's the plan?" Hermione asked.

"Basically, to find this thing and grab a photo of it. Then we can find out what it is back on the TARDIS." The Doctor replied. "The creature would have been here for years – nothing that big can get into the castle unnoticed, so it probably grew up in the grounds. Now, time travel is extremely dangerous. We-"

"-must not be seen." Hermione finished for him. The Doctor turned and stared at her.

"Wizards have a bit of time-travel up our sleeves too," she said, laughing. "In my third year I used some to get to all my classes."

The Doctor opened his mouth, but didn't seem to have a response for her.

"What? You thought you were the only ones who could travel in time?" Hermione laughed again and walked on ahead. "Come on, alien boy."

The Doctor shook his head good-naturedly. He couldn't believe he had been so idiotic as to honestly believe for even one minute that the Time Lords were the only time-travellers in the universe! Even this rudimentary magic amazed him. He was a thousand years old, but he still learnt a new thing every day.


	6. Chapter 6 - Don't Diss the Sonic

"What's that?" Hermione queried, pointing at the strange device the Doctor now held in his hand.

"A sonic screwdriver."

Hermione raised her eye at this but made no comment on the name of his gadget. "What's it for?" she asked again.

"It opens doors."

Hermione snorted. "Is that it?"

The Doctor immediately turned on her. "DON'T DISS THE SONIC!" he yelled.

"Okay, okay!" Hermione backed off quickly. "Pipe, down, someone's gonna hear us!"

The Doctor quieted, but he still looked a bit mad and as they continued down the corridor she could hear him muttering under his breath.

After a bit more walking, several wrong turns and a heated argument about where they were going, they arrived at their destination – Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They opened the door slowly, making sure the hinges didn't creak, and tiptoed inside. Hermione looked around, but there was no sign of the residential ghost. She assumed Myrtle was probably visiting another part of the castle.

"How are we going to get in?" she asked. "You need to speak Parseltongue."

At this the Doctor turned, gave Hermione a mocking glance, and pointed the Sonic Screwdriver at the tap that contained the trigger to open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Yes, the Chamber of Secrets. You read right.

The Doctor pressed a small button on the side of the screwdriver and the end lit up with blue light as the device emitted a faint but definitely audible buzzing sound. Instantly the sinks began to move around, shifting out of the way and creating the entrance in the floor that lead to the Chamber.

The Doctor gave Hermione another mocking look. _"Is that it?" _he quoted her sarcastically.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Chamber of Secrets

**Sorry it's been a while! Essays are murder... **

**bit of sonic awesomeness in this one. Enjoy!**

The ride to the Chamber was long and just as blood-curdlingly thrilling as Hermione had remembered it to be. She hit the ground at the bottom hard, but wasted no time in getting up – the floor was covered in bones. The Doctor followed quickly after, having stayed behind to lock the doors using the regrettably useful Sonic Screwdriver.

Hermione hated to be wrong, and this was no exception. The Doctor opened his mouth to continue his barrage of sarcasm and mockery ("What did we use to open the chamber of secrets? How did we get into the castle? What locked the doors?") but she silenced him with a glare that, had there been any milk around, probably would have curdled it in seconds.

The two companions trudged along the massive pipe, wading through bones of small animals and dead snake skin. Every few seconds one of them would trip on something hard - they were never quite sure what.

It took around an hour of walking to find their first clue that this was where the creature was living – a pile of fresh bones, still with scraps of meat hanging off of them, that looked like they had belonged to a Thestral. "We must be getting close," the Doctor said.

It was at this exact second that a loud roar emanated from the tunnel ahead.

The creature was massive, even more so than Hermione remembered it. It loomed over her and the Doctor.

"All we need is a photograph," the Doctor reminded her. "Ready? Three, two one… run!" He lifted a small polaroid camera, snapped a photo and turned to escape. Hermione was already running, having got a head start while he got the photo. The Doctor turned and followed.

Not fast enough.

Hermione heard a scream and looked back to see the Doctor fall to the ground. A large gash stretched across his back, and blood was already beginning to stain his shirt crimson.

"Doctor!" she yelled.

The creature heard her yell, but for some reason seemed to be startled. Hermione took the opportunity its momentary confusion had created to dart forward, grab the Doctor and begin to drag him away from it. She was able to move several metres before the monster came to its senses and came after her. Terrified, she stumbled backwards, nearly falling into something large behind her. She looked behind her to see a huge, papery wall. _The Basilisk! _It must have shed its skin down here. The translucent skin covered the entire tunnel and rustled at her touch.

Hermione looked back at the monster. It didn't look very comfortable around the skin. Suddenly she realized something. The Doctor had mentioned before that the creature had probably been living in the castle for years and years, because it would only have been able to get into the grounds as something tiny and unnoticeable. It would have grown up in the castle – _and it would have seen the Basilisk. _

Hermione pulled back a part of the skin and backed slowly through it. She pulled the papery surface back into place and held her breath in anticipation. She could see the blurry outline of the creature as it growled softly. With baited breath she waited, but the monster didn't come any closer. Then, finally, it turned and lumbered away.

Hermione let out a relieved sob. She turned to look at the Doctor. His face was deathly pale, his lips beginning to turn blue. The wound on his back had stopped bleeding, but still looked very serious. In his left hand he still gripped the camera.

Hermione wished she had her wand, but there was no time to go and get it. Besides, if she stole her own wand two months into the past, her past self would be frantic. It was too risky.

She grabbed the Doctor gently by the shoulders and began to drag him through the tunnels and back to the entrance before she realized she would have no way of getting back up the steep pipe down which they had come. _The Doctor must have had some sort of a plan, _she thought to herself. Then she stopped. These pipes channeled water from the lake up to the castle to be used for cleaning. The must go out somewhere into the grounds. She listened carefully. _There! _Hermione could faintly hear a breeze flowing past the entrance to a pipe somewhere off to her left. She turned and, with great effort, pulled the Doctor towards it.

She reached the end of the pipe and almost collapsed with relief. This pipe led directly out into the grounds, not ten metres from where they had left the TARDIS. Eagerly she dragged to Doctor to the doors of the blue box and opened them. The TARDIS hummed. Hermione pulled the Doctor inside and closed the doors behind them before checking on the Doctor again. His lips were still pale, his face as white as ice. She could clearly see the veins running beneath his skin.

"Come on, come on, what do I do?" she muttered to herself.


	8. Chapter 8 - Talking to the TARDIS

**Hay. Hay, guys. I bring you...**

**ROSE/TARDIS!**

**enjoy!**

A faint beeping noise sounded somewhere behind Hermione.

"You need to get him to the hospital wing." A sudden voice said to her.

Hermione whirled around in surprise to see a girl about her height standing by the control panel. She had blonde hair and a London accent, and seemed very solemn, as if she were attending someone's funeral. She wore a blue jacket and her hair seemed to be being blown around by the wind, even though the air was still in the ship.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked.

"I am the TARDIS interface." The girl replied. "I take the form of whoever the Doctor most needs."

"Whose form is that, then?" Hermione asked, curious.

"This is the form of Rose. I speak like her and look like her, but I am still the TARDIS. I simply find the memory he dwells on the most. I am Rose in Bad Wolf Bay, the last time the Doctor ever saw her."

"Okay then, Rose." Hermione was already extremely confused. "So you're really the TARDIS?"

"Yes."

"Then you know how to help the Doctor."

"Yes."

"So what should I do?"

"The Doctor's regeneration process has been inhibited." The interface told her. "He cannot heal himself. You must take him to the hospital wing on board the TARDIS."

"Where is this hospital wing?"

"Follow me." Rose/TARDIS began to walk down the stairs towards the entrance to the corridors beyond. Hermione grabbed the Doctor again and began to pull him, careful not to let the wound on his back hit the ground.

After a great deal of heaving on Hermione's part and a lot of patience on Rose/TARDIS's, they arrived at a clean, white room. The walls seemed to glow with light and there were fresh beds spaced around the area.

"This is where I leave you." Rose/TARDIS said. Suddenly she smiled fondly. "You are so young." She murmured. "The youngest companion the Doctor's ever had. Yet he needs you. I can see that quite clearly." She smiled again and began to fade. "I wish you well."

When Rose/TARDIS was gone, the ship began to hum again. Hermione lifted the Doctor onto one of the hospital beds, and instantly he seemed to gain strength. It only took a minute or so before he opened his eyes. "Rose?" was the first thing he said.

Hermione smiled. "No. It's just me." She replied.

"I heard her voice."

"Yeah. The TARDIS interface helped me get you here. It needed to take a form."

The Doctor smiled. "The TARDIS understands so well. Rose would be perfect to help you." His expression became confused. "Why aren't I regenerating?"

"I think it's the same thing that stopped me from healing before." She replied. She still didn't have any idea what this 'regeneration' was, but she decided to just go along with it. The Doctor would explain in time, she understood that now.

The Doctor's eyes closed again. "The TARDIS runs the hospital." He said. "I'll be fine. It won't take me long to heal." With these last words, his head fell back, his mind losing its grip on consciousness.


	9. Chapter 9 - A Ruined Suit

**I noticed I posted the same chapter twice earlier. Sorry! Here's a new one for you :)**

.Hermione wasn't sure quite how long she stayed in the hospital wing – time slipped by her without affecting her at all. Every now and again the Doctor would stir, but most of the time he stayed perfectly still. She was beginning to worry. The TARDIS hummed around her as she began to fret over the man's wellbeing. _What if something goes wrong? I need the Doctor. I'm not even sure I can find my way out of here without him…_

She had been following this train of thought for several minutes before she noticed something. The Doctor's pinkie finger. It was twitching, moving slowly back and forth. Then his other fingers began to move. Soon his hand was moving. One by one, his limbs began to move, twitching and stretching before finally the Doctor opened his eyes and let out a yell.

"_Yes! _We are back in business!" he yelled. He jumped off the bed and stood before her. "Sorry about that. It takes time to heal without regeneration. Now – let's go see what the heck that thing was, shall we?" He turned to walk out of the hospital room but stopped suddenly. He looked behind him at his own back, craning his neck as far as he could. He saw where he had been slashed and let out an extremely foul swear word. "Aw *****!" he cried. "My suit!"


	10. Chapter 10 - A New Suit

Around half an hour later, the Doctor had found himself a second suit and Hermione had recovered the camera from the hospital wing. The Doctor plugged the camera into the control panel in the main room of the TARDIS. A small screen built into the panel flickered to life and a bunch of moving circles and lines began to spin on the screen. The shapes dashed across the screen for about 10 seconds before settling on one pattern dominating the plasma screen.

The Doctor went pale. "That's not possible," he muttered. "This is very, very bad."

"What's bad?" Hermione asked.

"The creature," he replied. "It's supposed to be extinct."

"What's so bad about that?" She asked.

The Doctor turned to her, pure fear lighting up his eyes. "Because the only way it could appear like this is if it had escaped from the Time War."

Hermione had no idea what any of this meant. "The Time War?" she asked.

"A great war." The Doctor replied. "A war to end all wars, they called it. The Time Lords and the Daleks. So many killed…" he shook his head. "Entire civilisations were destroyed in the crossfire. Eventually they locked our two planets, Gallifrey and Skaro, into a Time Lock. Nothing was supposed to get in or out. I just barely escaped." He hung his head.

"So what does the creature have to do with the Time War?"

"The Sassubits – that's what they're called – are the only natural predators of the Time Lords. They lived in the wilderness of Gallifrey, away from civilization. When Gallifrey was locked, the Sassubits went the same way as the Time Lords – trapped forever in a time loop."

"So…?" Hermione prompted.

"So, how did they get out?" he replied. "There is, of course, only one possible explanation – this one's escaped through a gap in the Time Lock." He leapt around to the other side of the control panel. Hermione followed.

"If there's a gap in the lock, then that's bad – very bad." He continued. "If the gap is found it could be made bigger, And if it gets bigger – well, anything could get through."

"But isn't that good?" Hermione asked. "Your people are trapped there, and now they can escape. What's so bad about that?"

"It's not just Time Lords trapped in there – there are Daleks, too, and all of their allies. If they find this gap then they could get out and wreak havoc on the rest of the universe." He turned to her. "I can't let that happen."

"So what do we do?"

"We need to go back to the Time War."


	11. Chapter 11 - Reunions

"You're going to need to grab onto something." The Doctor advised. "The TARDIS won't want to go back to the war, so she'll probably try to fight it. It might get a bit rough."

Hermione grabbed hold of the railing that bordered the edge of the control room and clung on tight. "You ready?" the Doctor asked. She nodded tightly.

The Doctor slammed his hand down onto the control panel, and they were off.

The TARDIS lurched from side to side and began to shudder. Hermione cried out in fear and the Doctor ran from side to side, pressing buttons and pulling levers, trying to stabilize the craft. "Come on, come on…" he muttered.

A few long seconds later, the shuddering abruptly stopped. In the deafening silence that followed, the Doctor looked around. "You okay?" he asked the young witch. She nodded again. "Well then," he continued, "Let's go and see where exactly we've landed."

The Time Lord walked to the door slowly, almost reluctantly, and took hold of the handle. Hermione wen to join him. Together they pushed open the doors to reveal the shining landscape of Gallifrey.

Gallifrey was beautiful. There was no other word for it.

The sky was a deep orange colour, as if the sun were perpetually setting across the alien sky. The TARDIS was sitting in a tremendous valley lined with snow-capped mountains that shimmered in the sun. The grass was a majestic shade of red and the air smelled of citrus and apple blossom. In the distance sat a huge citadel encased in a massive glass globe. Hermione could just make out the tiny figures of people dressed in red robes walking around inside.

The Doctor sighed in pure bliss. "It's good to be home," he whispered.

A voice broke the silence behind them. "Doctor?" They both turned quickly in shock to see an elderly lady in the same red robes as the figures in the distant city. She was gazing at them in wonder. "It's really you," she whispered. "You finally came back."

The Doctor fell silent for a minute before uttering one word.

"Mum?"


	12. Chapter 12 - Gallifreyan Magic

Hermione was still in a daze.

The lady was the Doctor's mother. This she could understand. They looked similar, too – the same face shape, same eye colour, and same hair colour, though hers seemed to have greyed over time.

But this alien world. That was what really got to her. She was standing _on another planet._

She wasn't sure she could ever come to terms with this. _Another planet. _Her mind was still freaking out.

The Doctor's mother – whose name Hermione had just learned was Salanya – had led them into and through the city, past the tall Time Lords swathed in red and the huge buildings that seemed to defy gravity itself, and into a small warehouse located near the centre of the citadel. Once inside, she closed the door behind them and flicked a switch on the wall beside the entranceway. She walked to the middle of the room and sat down in a small chair, gesturing to two other armchairs and indicating that they should follow her example.

They sat down.

She leaned forward. "Tell me everything." She commanded the Doctor. "How are you here? _Why _are you here? What have you been doing? And who is your companion?"

So the Doctor began. He started from a time way before Hermione met him, somewhere in the 'Medusa Cascade', wherever that was. After that the story proceeded to Earth, and to a girl named Rose. Hermione realized that this must be the same Rose who she had seen on the interface of the TARDIS. The Doctor seemed very upset at her leaving – stuck in a parallel universe, it seemed – and suddenly she felt a small twinge of jealousy at this girl she had never met.

The Doctor's story continued with Donna, a very sassy redhead from London, before it reached her. "I wanted to study the wizarding world," the Doctor explained when he got to this point. "Humans who could bend Hion energy? It's fascinating!"

This turned Salanya's focus to Hermione, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Hion manipulation?" she mused. "Can I see some?"

Hermione looked worriedly at the Doctor. "_I don't have my wand,_" she mouthed.

"It's okay," the Doctor whispered back. "You have a real talent for magic, I've seen it. Besides, I can amplify your abilities using the Sonic." He grabbed her hand and pressed the Sonic into it, pressing the small button on its side as he did so. After a few seconds Hermione felt buzzing with energy. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she took her hand back. Then she grinned. Using her hand as if it were her own wand, she pointed into the empty space beside Salanya's chair. _"Expecto patronum!" _she yelled, remembering Harry's DA lessons from the year before. Immediately she felt a tingle run up her hand before a small otter bounded from her fingertips. It ran a joyous lap of the room before fading into a soft cloud of silvery mist.

Salanya seemed impressed. "That is fantastic!" she remarked. It appeared to Hermione that she was attempting to hide her fascination and remained dignified. If she was, she wasn't doing a very good job. "May I see some more?" she asked politely, her eyes glistening with delight. Hermione smiled and raised her hand again.


	13. Chapter 13 - Unseen

Hermione and the Doctor spent two hours in the warehouse practicing spells before the Sonic's work began to wear off. Hermione felt the rush of energy slowly leave her body as the time went on.

A short time after that, it was Salanya's turn to explain her story.

"After the Medusa Cascade, I looked everywhere for you," she said softly. "It took me a while to realize you'd escaped. The Daleks and the Time Lords kept fighting for a while but for some reason they've been oddly quiet recently. There are no complaints here, of course – it's given us plenty of time to rebuild – but all the same I can't help but wonder what they're up to. And the Sassubits, you say, they're escaping? That just makes me even more worried."

The Doctor's expression showed that he agreed. "We need to get onto the Dalek ship." He said. "If they have anything to do with this, we need to know. He turned to his mother. "No-one can know we're here." He said. "If they find out, I'll be put on trial and we'll never find out what's going on. Is there any way to get to the Dalek ships without being seen?"

Salanya got up and walked over to the back of the room, where Hermione had just noticed a large pile of boxes were stacked against the wall. She opened one and pulled out two armbands. "These are high-frequency perception filters. No-one can even remember that you exist while you're wearing them. They should be powerful enough to get you onto the Dalek ships undetected."

The Doctor turned the devices over in his hands before giving one to Hermione. "These are extremely high quality," he noted. "Where did you come by them?"

"After the Medusa Cascade Rassilon had a new respect, I suppose. He gave me free access to the weapons vaults in the Citadel and I've been keeping some here, just in case."

"Thank you."

"It isn't significant. Now you need to go soon before they register you're in the city." With this final sentence she bundled them out of the door and closed it behind them.

"So that was your mum." Hermione remarked.

"Nice woman," the Doctor said. "Bit bossy, though, I have to say."

Together they slipped the perception filters around their wrists and set off through the city.


	14. Chapter 14 - The Library

Walking with the perception filters was one of the strangest things Hermione had ever experienced. The Time Lords' eyes roamed the crowd, focusing on everyone but her and the Doctor. Their eyes would simply slide from the person on her left to the one on her right without ever pausing to notice her.

I was as if she didn't exist.

This sensation unnerved her deeply and she found herself gripping the Doctor's arm for comfort. She looked up to him and saw that he, too, was feeling uncomfortable – she could clearly see the tendons standing out on his neck.

After a short while of walking the Doctor steered her into a tall building on the outskirts of the citadel.

"The Citadel Mind." He said. "The knowledge and power of all of Gallifrey is stored here."

Hermione gazed up in wonder. The mind of an entire race – all of their knowledge, their memory, their skill – it seemed almost impossible for it to be stored in a building a tiny as this.

The Doctor gently took her arm. "We need to see where the Daleks are." He said. "The information will be on the first floor. We should get in and get out as quickly as possible. Perception filters can't trick alarms."

Silently they stole into the building, tiptoeing through corridors, on the lookout for alarms but seeing none. Soon they reached a door labeled 'Dalek knowledge – recent' and stepped inside.

The room had no books or computers. It was completely empty except for a bright beam of light in the centre that seemed to be convulsing and stretching even as Hermione looked at it.

"This is the information centre," the Doctor explained. "Time Lords store their knowledge in tiny ruptures of the fabric of the universe. This information can never be lost or altered except by the one who created it – the one who's memory is stored here."

Hermione was fascinated; she could feel about a million questions burning on the tip of her tongue. How-?" she began, but the Doctor was already striding towards the beam of light. Slowly, deliberately, he touched the beam.

He froze completely. Hermione ran over, clapping her hands at him, yelling, but he gave no response.

It was several minutes before he moved again, and when he did, he let out a massive yell, pulling his hand away from the light as though he'd been burned. "I'd forgotten how much that hurts," he gasped.

"Are you all right?"

"I will be in a minute." The Doctor waved hand around as if attempting to cool it off. "I know where the ships are, though."

"Where?" Hermione asked.

"Easier to show you." Suddenly the Doctor grabbed her forehead and pressed it to his. She noted that his fingers were cool even though he was reacting as though he had just been burned. This quickly became unimportant, though, as memory began to stream into her consciousness.


	15. Chapter 15 - Promises Broken

**Sorry, guys! I know I posted the same chapter twice, and I blame it on my laptop. I have a system where I highlight what I've posted and my computer won't save the file properly so it doesn't save what I've highlighted and what I haven't. Sorry!**

At first Hermione was unable to see anything. An inky blackness stretched out in the never-ending space before her.

But fairly soon a shape became apparent to her. A huge spinning disc that uncannily resembled the alien ships in the cheesy UFO movies Muggles so enjoyed loomed before her. Information streamed through her mind – equations? No, coordinates. This must tell her how to get to the ship. In the distance she could make out strange, metallic voices. Her mind – or rather the Doctor's – supplied the meaning. Daleks. Those were Dalek voices.

It was only then that Hermione became aware of the Doctor's presence in her mind. She could – not see, there must be a better adjective – _feel? _No, _sense. _She could sense his mind as it brushed against hers. Curious, she examined it – she had read about Legimency, so maybe she could use it here.

A second later she slipped into his consciousness.

The Doctor's mind was endless – all around her Hermione could see beautiful spiral and circular patterns that the information around her told her was knowledge. The Doctor's mind was vast and colourful – all of the colours on Earth and then a thousand more that she had no name for. His thoughts were always on helping others, and to her delight she found a substantial amount of curiosity and affection towards her, accompanied by a twinge of protectiveness.

Suddenly Hermione felt The Doctor's presence around her. Mental barriers slammed down and shoved her away from him. She was jolted back into the corporeal world.

She opened her eyes to see his face and inch away from hers. His eyes were burning with anger.

"_Never – _do – that – again." He spat.


	16. Chapter 16 - Forgiven

_How dare this – this _child – _invade his mind like that? He was centuries old! He knew secrets that could end the universe! His mind was his last private sanctum, and she had dared enter!_

The Doctor refused to talk to Hermione for several hours, working in almost total silence for as he gathered the equipment needed on board the Dalek ships. Eventually she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"I'm sorry – " she began.

Instantly the Doctor turned to her. A second of hesitation –

And then he kissed her.

Hermione had never been kissed before. A jolt ran up her spine as the Doctor's lips touched with hers, and she felt like she was detached from her own body.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds before the Doctor pulled away. Hermione stood there, speechless, gazing up at him.

"Well then," he said with a smile. "You ready?"

Hermione grinned back, realizing that she was forgiven. "Of course!"

A couple of tweaks using the Sonic and they were off.

The Dalek ships were damp, dark and cold. The Daleks could be heard in the distance as Hermione and the Doctor caught their breath in a corner of the ship. It was a few seconds before the Doctor spoke again.

"Blimey, I'd forgotten what a headache Vortex Manipulation can give you," he said, massaging his temple.

Hermione nodded. Her own head felt like someone had squeezed it. Hard. With a clamp or something. She groaned and looked around, though she was unable to see much. It seemed that the Daleks weren't very much into aesthetic design.

Soon the Doctor jumped up again. "You coming?" he asked quietly as he began creeping down the corridor.

Hermione quickly followed, the thought of being left behind in this strange labyrinth nearly terrifying enough to make her whimper in fear. She hadn't even seen a Dalek before, but already the thought of them sent shudders down her spine. The young witch broke into a jog as she tried to stay as close to the Time Lord as she could.

It wasn't long before the Daleks' metallic voices could be clearly heard. "Report! Report!" they screamed. "Gallifrey scans indicate non-Time Lord life forms!"

"Activating re-scan of Gallifrey!"

"They're onto us," the Doctor muttered. "Let's go."

They jogged silently down several darkened corridors until they eventually reached a large panel in the wall. "This should be the main wiring system." The Doctor said, pulling the panel back. He used the Sonic for several seconds before beckoning Hermione towards him and showing her the wiring. "This is the wiring to this entire ship. Now, you've your basic engine signals, weapons and scanners here-" he gestured to a large clump of red and blue wires "-but this here is not normal setup. This is new wiring." Here he gestured to a smaller group of yellow and black wires that looked patched on to the original powerboard. "This could be what's causing the rift."

Suddenly a harsh, metallic voice rang out behind them. "Intruders!" it screamed. "Intruders!"


	17. Chapter 17 - The Brain-Dead Daleks

**I am sooooo sorry, guys! I haven't updated in forever! aaaah!**

**Here's the next chapter. I'm just going through the final stages of editing now, so i PROMISE the rest of the chapters will be up soon!**

**Please review - I always love to hear feedback!**

The Doctor turned around, quicker than lightning, and turned the Sonic on the Dalek. It was barely a second before the metal monster was silent again.

Hermione tried to edge closer, to see the Dalek up close, but the Doctor grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "It raised the alarm." He explained. "We have to get out of here before more arrive."

The pair raced across the ship and eventually ended up in a corridor lined with heavy iron doors. "This way!" the Doctor yelled, sonicing the closest door and racing through it.

They stopped dead when they found themselves in a massive metal hall filled with surprised Daleks. Hermione froze completely with fear.

"Okay," the Doctor said. "Not this way."

The Daleks all turned to face them simultaneously, and Hermione felt a jolt of fear run up her spine.

The Doctor made a break for the door with Hermione following close behind him, but before they were even halfway to the door it slammed shut with a large _clunk. _They turned back around to see the Daleks converging on them.

"Fudge." Hermione muttered.

"Doctor." Said a Dalek stood in the centre of the room. "You are supposed to be dead."

"Yeah…" the Doctor said, scratching his head, "Funny story, actually…"

"We have no need for explanations!" the Dalek said. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Extermi-!"

Suddenly the Dalek stopped dead, the light in its eyestalk flickering out. Across the hall, around a million of the other Daleks did the same. Hermione looked to the Doctor for an explantation as to what had caused this, but he seemed to be just as confused as she was.

Then a holoscreen to their right flickered. "Doctor!" came a call.

The Doctor blinked with surprise. "Mum?"

Salanya grinned cheekily from the holoscreen. "I've hacked their systems and temporarily shut down every Dalek on the ship. Do what you need to do, but be quick – I can only keep them offline for so long."

The Doctor nodded before turning to Hermione. "The deadlock seals are still over the doors," he explained, "So we'll have to go straight down. Don't worry, just grab my hand."

Hermione gripped his hand tight. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it straight down at the ground. Instantly, the floor fell out from beneath them and they plummeted away from the brain-dead Daleks.

The pair of travelers hit the ground on the floor below hard, the Doctor immediately pointing the sonic screwdriver up to the roof and sealing off the the opening through which they had fallen. "Are you all right?" he then asked Hermione, who nodded wordlessly.

This lower level was completely empty. All of the Daleks were shut down, and most were still in the room that they had just left.

"Come on." The Doctor said, leaping to his feet. "We need to destroy whatever it is they have on board this ship."

It took quite a bit more running through many different corridors to eventually find another control panel. Several times the Doctor had had to grab Hermione and pull her around a corner, thinking he had seen a functioning Dalek.

Once they had found the panel the Doctor opened it as silently as possible and began poking around in the wiring. "There it is again," he said, pointing to another group of wires. "Whatever it is, it can't be good. We're going to have to shut it down."

"Can't we just cut those wires?" Hermione asked.

"No, that won't be enough. We need to destroy the system completely." The Doctor grinned. "We need to blow it up."

Hermione felt a smile creep onto her face. She assumed that this must be what Fred and George felt like before setting off one of their pranks. There was a tightness in her chest, almost as if her heart were bursting to get out._ Pure excitement, _she thought. _As if I haven't had enough of that already! _


	18. Chapter 18 - Goodbye

It had taken the Doctor only a few moments working on the circuits in the panel to find a map of the ship's interior. Now he and Hermione were at what they had discovered to be a Dimension Cannon, which the Daleks seemed to have been preparing to use to shoot the themselves through the gap in the Time Lock.

The Cannon was around the size of a tennis court, and filled with circuits and wires. Hermione carried a large armful of tiny bombs that the Doctor had whipped up using some of the wires that were threaded along the walls, passing each detonator to the Doctor as he moved around the room, placing them on the edge of the area

"Come on!" The Doctor called once they had finished. "We need to get out of here before we can blow this place up!"

The pair grabbed hands and the Doctor activated the Vortex Manipulator, instantly transporting them back to the Citadel.

The pair raced back to the TARDIS, crossing back over the crimson grass that swayed gently in the citrus breeze, and through the doors of the blue police box. Just before he entered the TARDIS, the Doctor turned back towards the shining city in the distant mountains. "Bye, Mum," he murmured before going inside.

The sounds of Time Travel flight began, the familiar groaning, swirling sounds of the TARDIS, before the tiny blue box disappeared from the landscape.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Hermione. The grin had returned to his face, and Hermione thought that he gave the impression of an excited schoolboy. "You ready?" he asked.

"Oh, definitely."

"We're halfway through the gap, so as soon as we press the button, we need to get through as fast as we can to avoid getting stuck." The Doctor said. "The tempero-spatial differences will suck anything that's escaped the Lock to get sucked back in, so we'll need to move fast." He held up the control for the explosives. "Three…" Hermione put her hand on the control over the Doctor's. "Two…" they both tensed, ready to move as soon as the explosives went off. "One!"

Hermione and the Doctor pressed the button simultaneously before running to the control panel. The Doctor flicked about ten levers per second, occasionally barking orders for Hermione to move certain gears or press particular keys that he couldn't reach. It took longer than it should have to reach Earth, the TARDIS using up huge amounts of energy to fight its way out of the Time Lock.

Eventually, the shaking and rattling of the ship stopped, and the TARDIS fell silent.

"Home sweet home." The Doctor said softly. "Are you alright?"

Hermione looked around. _This is it, then, _she thought to herself silently. _This is the end of our adventures._

"I guess I'd best be off." She said.

The Doctor simply stared at her. "You'd better." He replied. "But first-" he threw something to the young witch and she caught it involuntarily. She opened her palm to see a silver key on a long metal chain.

"What's this?" she asked with surprise.

"A key to the TARDIS." He responded. "I'll be back, Miss Granger – just you see."

And with those parting words still ringing in her ears, Hermione stepped out of the TARDIS and back into the wizarding world.


End file.
